South American Empanadas (Dough)

My family is going to kill me for posting an empanada recipe that is not Costa Rican, but I like to experiment with new recipes and this one has turned out perfectly.  I will post the Costa Rican empanada recipe one of these days in addition to the picadillo recipe that goes IN the empandas.  I made a South American picadillo but never again, I will most definitely stick to the Costa Rican picadillo next time. 

Ingredients: 
Dough for empanadas – makes about 15-20 (or more if you make small ones)

• 3 cups organic all purpose flour
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup of smart balance butter (I'm sure they use full fat butter in South America)
• ¾ cup to 1 cup of warm (skim) milk
• 1-3 tablespoon garlic and herb seasoning

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl mix flour with garlic and herb seasoning and then mound flour so that in the center you can put in the yolk, butter, and milk.  
2. Mix everything together with your hands and knead for about 5 minutes,  If needed, add more flour or water to reach the appropriate consistency.  Work the dough with the balls of your hands and knead shaping into a ball.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes (most recipes call for 3 hours or overnight but I didn't have time to do so).
4. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
5. Use the empanada discs immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

 Note:  An important part of these empanadas – and empanadas in general – is the repulgue or the curvy ornate seal.  My strategy is to seal them brushing the edges with egg white, then I press the edges with my fingers, I attempt to fold the edges and to seal it I finish by pressing down again with the tip of a fork, it works and actually doesn’t look too bad when the empanadas come out of the oven.